Marcin Held Predicts Toughest Fight of Career in Bellator 93 Clash with Dave Jansen

The 21-year-old Polish prospect fully comprehends the importance of
his Bellator
93 clash with Dave Jansen.
Should Held earn a victory tonight at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee
in Lewiston, Maine, he would take home a $100,000 payday and a
guaranteed lightweight title shot. With so much riding on his
performance, the submission ace has prepared diligently for what he
believes will be his toughest test to date.

“I know [Jansen] is a guy with big experience, and he’s very good,”
Held recently told Sherdog.com. “I suspect it will be the hardest
fight for me, but every fight should be harder than the previous
one.”

Held was supposed to meet Jansen twice previously to close out the
Season 7 tournament, but the bout was delayed both times. As a
result, both fighters have had a full three months to prepare for
the coming combat, a fact that was both beneficial and frustrating
for Held.

“On one [hand], [the delays] were bad for me. It was annoying to
wait for such a long time,” said Held. “But [on the other hand], I
had more time to improve my technique. So it was both good and
bad.”

Tonight’s matchup marks the culmination of Held’s five-fight
Bellator career, which began two years ago in a Season 4
quarterfinal matchup with eventual tournament winner and world
champion Michael
Chandler. Held caught the future titlist in a deep kneebar but
was unable to finish the hold, allowing Chandler to escape and win
the fight just minutes later with an arm-triangle choke. Though
Held still remembers how close he was to handing Chandler his first
loss, the Pole is more concerned with his future than with his
past.

“I remember [the kneebar], but it’s not really important for me. I
went over it, but it’s not something that [troubles] me. I don’t
think about it all the time, and I don’t have a problem with it,”
Held said. “I know that my time is still ahead, and I know have a
lot to learn yet. If something goes wrong, I know I have time, and
I hope, if not now, I will be champion in [the coming] years.”

Held advanced to the Season 7 finals by outpointing Russian talent
Murad
Machaev before submitting UFC veteran Rich
Clementi with a second-round toehold last November at Bellator
81. In Jansen, Held now faces a gritty wrestler with solid boxing
and an ample gas tank. Held is well aware that most believe his
best shot to defeat the World Extreme Cagefighting vet is via
submission, a prospect that could prove difficult considering
Jansen’s superior wrestling pedigree. Nevertheless, Held said he
has prepared himself to navigate that hurdle when the time
comes.

“We know that Dave Jansen
will try to keep the fight standing, but we are ready for this,”
said Held. “We’ve trained a lot for this situation, and I am
ready.”